How to play MASQWORD

A free party game for your Discord call. One friend tells a story with three secret words hidden in it; everyone else tries to catch them.

What is MASQWORD?

MASQWORD is a party game for Discord voice channels. One player gets an absurd scene and three secret words and tells the story out loud; friends listen, throw suspicious words onto a shared table and try to catch them. Solo or teams, from 2 players, in English, Spanish and Russian.

The fun is in the telling: an absurd situation, three words that have to fit into it, a few decoys, and friends who are listening for exactly that.

What you need

Players: 2–8, solo or teams
Where: A Discord voice channel: desktop app, browser or mobile app
Voice: Discord's own voice chat; MASQWORD has none of its own
Price: Free
Languages: English, Spanish, Russian

Start a game

Get in a voice channel. Two to eight people in a Discord voice channel. You talk through Discord; MASQWORD has no voice chat of its own.
Launch the Activity. In the call, press the rocket button (Activities) and pick MASQWORD. First time? Open MASQWORD in the Discord App Directory.
Sit down at the table. Everyone in the call joins the same table. The host picks solo or teams and starts the first story.

Inviting friends later? Send them this

One of us tells a ridiculous story with three secret words hidden in it, and the rest of us try to catch them. It runs right inside our Discord call.

A round, step by step

Step 1
The storyteller gets a scene
A situation, a role and three secret words that only the storyteller (and their team) can see. There is a short moment to prepare, and an optional hint suggests a first sentence.
Step 2
The story, out loud
The storyteller improvises in voice chat and works all three words in naturally. Each word has to be said whole, in a normal way. Odd details that mean nothing are allowed, and they make great decoys.
Step 3
Listeners collect suspects
Everyone else listens. On the shared table, listeners throw suspicious words onto the table as they hear them, up to four per team.
Step 4
Three final guesses
Each listener, or each team, picks three answers. In Quick play friends simply guess out loud instead.
Step 5
The reveal
The storytellers confirm near misses such as typos, then the words are revealed for everyone. A caught word is a point for the listener; a word nobody noticed is a point for the storyteller.
Step 6
Pass the mask
The next storyteller steps up. A circle ends when everyone has told a story.

What a story sounds like

Storyteller: a vampireExample

The vampire at the dentist

Secret words: sunrise, mirror, garlic

Doctor, I'm so sorry about the hour. My schedule is complicated: I saw a sunrise once and was off work for a week. And please put that mirror away, I really don't need to see anything. Also, whatever you do, no mint. My grandmother warned me about garlic and dentists.

The listeners wrote down “sunrise” and “mirror”, which sounded like vampire clichés, and “mint”, which was a decoy. “Garlic” slipped past them inside a family story: a point for the storyteller.

Modes and formats

Solo or teams

Everyone plays for themselves, or split into teams that take turns holding the mask.

Monologue or Cover Me

One storyteller, or two who share the words but play different roles and bail each other out. Cover Me needs at least four players.

Quick or Scored

Quick: friends guess out loud and the turn moves on. Scored: everyone picks three answers and the table keeps points.

Tips, not rules

Make the word matter

A word buried in a shopping list only makes people guess at random. It works better when something happens because of it.

Build on your version

Twenty synonyms in a row do little for a story. A strange detail can throw your friends off, even if no secret word is in it.

In a pair, add your own

You can rescue your partner with a new detail or make things worse by accident. You do not have to just agree.

Questions

Is MASQWORD free?

Yes. MASQWORD is free to play inside Discord.

How many players do we need?

Two to eight. Cover Me, the two-storyteller format, needs at least four.

Does everyone need a microphone?

The storyteller talks. Listeners can just listen and tap or type their guesses, although the game is more fun when everyone reacts out loud.

Can I play on my phone?

Yes, in the Discord mobile app. Turn the phone sideways so the whole table fits.

Which languages are supported?

English, Spanish and Russian. Each player sees the buttons in their own language; the language of scenes and words is set for the whole room.

MASQWORD is not in our Activities list.

Make sure you are in a voice channel, then open MASQWORD in the Discord App Directory. On a server, your role needs the “Use Activities” permission.

Does MASQWORD record our voices?

No. Voice stays in Discord. The game only receives what you tap and type.

Ready when your call is.

Open MASQWORD in Discord and pass the mask.

Play MASQWORD on Discord